Conducting Successful SME Interviews

8/12/2019 Conducting Successful SME Interviews

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Conducting Successful SME Interviews

By Jennifer Lambe

Interviewing subject matter experts (SMEs) is one of the most common

and useful methods for obtaining the information needed to create qualitydocuments. Successful SME interviews require careful research andpreparation in advance. During the interview, good listening skills, criticalanalysis, and the ability to maintain control of the range and depth of theinterview with appropriate tact are crucial to successful outcomes. Afterthe interview, give prompt attention to notes and any required follow-through. When working with hostile SMEs or those with poorcommunication skills emphasize the strengths of the relationship anddevelop strategies to work around any weaknesses.

Introduction

Perhaps the most universal and basic method for a technicalcommunicator to gather information is a face-to- face interview with asubject matter expert (SME). SMEs may be engineers, developers,programmers, operators, clerks, or customer support personnel. They arethe people who have experience with and knowledge of a particularsystem, application, product, process, or task that you need to learnabout. There is a wide variety of factors that can affect SME interviews.In most cases, the SME has a job to do beyond taking time out of his orher busy day to talk with you. It is therefore critical to get the rightinformation and optimize your interview time.

(This is particularly crucial if you work on smaller projects or if you are anoff-site consultant; in these cases your contact with your SME may berestricted even further.) This article explains some of the interviewtechniques that I have used over the years as a technical writer andcommunicator. It includes steps you can take before, during, and afterthe interview to maximize its effectiveness, as well as some tips forhandling problematic SME interviews and relationships. The majority ofthese techniques will apply whether you are a freelancer, a consultant, ora captive writer.

Before the interview

Before the interview begins, there are things that you can do to build agood foundation for a productive interview experience.

Define your objectives

Define the purpose of the interview. Are you interviewing to identifyproblem areas within a process? Or are you documenting the steps a user



performs to complete a task? Once established, the purpose will help setthe scope for your interview. You should also try to establish the expectedor needed level of detail for the final product. Doing so on the front-endwill ensure that you ask the right questions and at the right level ofdetail. (For example, a policy-level document requires more general

information than a work instruction, which requires more explicit step-by-step detail.)

Research the subject matter

Review any available background material before the interview. Try to getcopies of any documentation related to the task, department, company,product, or industry. Flow charts, product data sheets, and even trainingmaterials can all be valuable sources of information. The morebackground information you have going into the interview, the better thequestions you will be able to ask.

You should also compile a list of questions or an outline of topics youwant to discuss during the interview. This will keep you on track duringthe interview. (It also helps ensure that you do not forget any importantitems.) Group your questions by subject. This enables you to cover atopic in its entirety and enhances the perception that you are prepared.

Assemble your interview “toolkit”

I use common tools to stay organized during the interview, such as paperclips, binder clips, folders, highlighters, Post-it Notes, and pens withdifferent colors of ink. These tools will help you keep your interview notesand attachments organized, so make sure you have them handy andready to use.

Be on time for the interview

Show respect for the SME’s busy schedule b y not making him or her waiton you to arrive at the interview. This is important whether the SMEworks for your company or for a client company. Your arrival at theinterview will be the SME’s first impression of you (and your company).Make sure that impression conveys your professionalism. If you aretraveling to the interview, be sure to get good directions and leave

yourself plenty of time in case you encounter unexpected traffic.

During the Interview

Often, the face-to-face interview affords you the best opportunity to getcontent information for your documentation project. (In some cases, theinterview may be the only opportunity you will have.) It is important tomanage the interview flow so that you will have the time to cover the



questions you need to get answered.

Use active listening skills

This technique is not as easy as it sounds. Hearing is not the same as

listening. Hearing is the perception of sound, whereas listening isattention to what is being said. Active listening requires that you give thespeaker your complete and undivided attention. When you listen actively,you are focused on listening, not talking. Do not get distracted bymentally planning your next question so that miss the SME’s response toyour current question.

Ask open-ended questions

These are questions that require more detailed answers than a “yes” or “no” response. Open -ended questions start with words such as “how,” “why,” or “what.” An example of a closed - ended question would be, “Doyou implement safety checks in the manufacturing process?” The obviousanswers to this question would be “yes” or “no.” An alternative open -ended question that would prompt the SME for more detail would be,

“How do you implement safety checks in the manufacturing process?”

(Politely) control the interview

Controlling the flow of the interview is always important, but especially sowhen you have tight time constraints. If the SME gets off-track, bring himor her back to the topic by asking pointed, specific questions. Be carefulnot to antagonize the SME in the process. You may need to continue towork with the person on other projects and bad feelings could taint futureinteraction. Also, remember that you can offend not only with words, butalso with your tone of voice and impatient gestures. It is also importantto control the environment of the interview as much as possible. If thearea in which you are interviewing is distracting (for example, if the SMEis receiving numerous phone calls or other employees are constantlyinterrupting the interview), ask if there is another location, such as anempty office or conference room, where you can continue the interview.In some cases, such as when the interviewee needs to use their computerto demonstrate a task, you may be tied to a certain location. However,you can try other tactics like asking if the interviewee can put their phone

calls directly into voicemail. Ultimately, you may be forced to make thebest of a bad situation.

Paraphrase information and repeat it back to the SME

This is particularly helpful when covering complex material. Paraphrasingreinforces your understanding of the information. If you cannot repeatthe information in your own words, you probably do not understand it



well enough to write about it. This is a definite sign that you need to askmore questions about the subject matter.

Use critical thinking skills to identify gaps in the information

The SME may not be able to explain the information in a logical sequence,but if you mentally (or verbally) rearrange the information into achronological or sequential order, you are more likely to spot any gaps inthe process flow. This is critical for task- or process relateddocumentation. This technique works well when combined with theparaphrasing technique discussed above.

Be accurate

Make sure you get the correct spelling of names, job titles, systems,departments, etc. Inaccuracies in the product reflect badly on the writereven though the error may have resulted from incorrect informationprovided by the SME. This more than anything will add to or detract fromyour reputation as a technical writer.

Organize your materials

Use paper clips, binder clips, folders, Post-it Notes, highlighters, penswith different colors of ink, and other tools as appropriate help you keepyour interview notes and attachments organized. I find it helpful to markareas of my notes where I need to go back and follow up or clarifyinformation with the SME later in the interview. An example of this is thepoint at which a procedure branches. You will probably need to documentboth branches of the procedure, but it is much easier to follow one pathat a time.

I use highlighters or sticky notes to mark references in my notes to formsand exhibits I need to collect after the interview.

An alternate method of doing this is to keep a running list of the itemsyou need to get. Either method works, just be sure you try to get thoseitems before you leave the interview, while you have the SME’s attentionand while the material is fresh.

Don’t make promis es to the SME that you are not authorized tomake

Do not promise a draft or a finished product to the SME by a specific dateunless you have consulted with the project or product manager and therest of the development team. This will create problems by setting upunrealistic expectations.



If you are a consultant, do not promise services to the SME that may gobeyond the scope of the contract or budget. If appropriate, discuss anyquestionable requests with your project manager. Any services that falloutside the scope of the project (and budget) may require a new contractor additional fee negotiation.

Closing the Interview

At the end of the interview, there are still a few things you can do toreinforce success. Ideally, at this point you and the SME have establisheda good working relationship and you feel pretty good about theinformation you got during the interview.

Thank the SMEs for their time

Commonly, SMEs are assigned by their bosses to assist writers withprojects, even though the SME may not benefit directly from the endproduct. Expressing your appreciation can help turn a reluctant SME intoa willing participant in future collaborations.

Ask for permission to follow up

By asking permission to follow up, you can determine whether the SME isopen to additional contact. If the SME grants your request for follow-upquestions, discuss how future contact should be handled. The SME mayprefer to handle your questions by e-mail rather than by phone, or youmay collectively decide to embed the questions in the appropriatelocation of the draft document, assuming that the SME will get a chanceto review the draft.

After the interview

The following techniques mostly deal with follow-through, and it goeswithout saying that follow-through is critical in technical writing.

Review your notes while the interview is fresh

Immediately after the interview, fill in any gaps in your interview notesand decipher any cryptic notations. If you need to organize your materials

better, now is the time to match pages of notes with the relevant screenprints or exhibits.

Schedule follow-up as necessary

If there are a significant number of follow-up questions or if the questionsare complex, you may want to try to schedule a follow-up phoneinterview with the SME. Now that the interview is successfully behind you



and you have all the information you need, you can begin drafting yourdocument. With the right information and good organization of thatinformation, writing the draft should be trouble-free.

Problem Interviews

Optimally, the writer/SME alliance will be a cooperative, symbioticrelationship. However, this is not always the case. In the real world, anynumber of factors — personality clashes, lack of commitment to a project,or even inadequate communication skills —can inhibit the effectiveness ofthe writer/SME relationship. An uncooperative or inarticulate SME canmake your job as a writer unnecessarily difficult. Moreover, the qualityand skill level of SMEs vary greatly and often the technical writer has littlecontrol over which SME is assigned to act as a resource on his or herproject (1). However, even with a less-than-stellar SME there are somethings you can do to improve the odds of success. If you work on anongoing basis with an SME who has unsatisfactory communication skills,you may be able to establish an adequate working relationship byidentifying your SME’s weak points and learning to work around them. Forexample, if an SME is a conceptual thinker and not very detail-oriented,you could focus on drawing out the specifics of the conceptual issuesdiscussed during the interview. You could also ask to see examples thatsupport those discussion points.

Conclusion

A successful SME interview is achievable through preparation andforethought, organization, and proper management of the interviewprocess. Not all of the techniques presented in this article will apply toevery interview situation; however, most will apply to the averageinterview. Hopefully, some of these techniques will work for you!

References

Shouba, Terryl K.,"Bringing in the SMEs," Intercom , STC Arlington, VA,April 1999

Interviewing the Subject Matter Expert

by Daniel Hart

http://www.stc-techedit.org/tiki-download_file.php?fileId=161&display



When you interview the subject matter expert, you witness that most vulnerableact —thought sorted on the fly. For a productive and humane exchange, offer asympathetic ear attuned to clarity and rapport.

Attend, and Listen

Acoustic space is in a way a vast interior in the center of which the listener findshimself together with his interlocutors. The oral-aural individual thus does not findhimself simply situated somewhere in neutral, visual-tactile, Copernican space.Rather, he finds himself in a vast kind of interiority. (Walter J. Ong, S.J., ThePresence of the Word [New Haven: Yale University Press, 1967], 164)

The subject matter expert —indeed, any oral communicator —manages Walter J.Ong’s “vast … interiority,” a resour ce even more unwieldy than the written word.The successful interviewer is both chief prompter and sympathetic ear. Regardlessof your foreknowledge, show deference. Listen to learn, mentor sharedunderstanding.

Establish Rapport

"I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure yourealize that what you heard is not what I meant."(Alan Greenspan quoted by Daniel Kadlec. “Summing Up Greenspan,” Time, Friday,December 15, 2000. http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,91998,00.html

)

The subject matter expert —including the writer —knows more than you do, or atleast knows what you would. For example, the software developer famouslycommands intimidating esoterica that tongue-tie even the confident layperson.

Be well researched and therefore, unafraid. Understand the lingua franca beforeyou use it. Record this moment, not the one for which you fastidiously prepared.Remember your ally, the end user, who needs clear, correct, and concise prose.

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,91998,00.html





Set the Pace

Take time to understand the non sequitur. Do not fear silence. Consider authorSinclair Lewis’s “test of quietness,” the unspoken understandings shared by friends.

(Sinclair Lewis, Babbit [New York: Penguin Books, 1996], 209)

A deliberative pause during the interview need be no less rich. It begs reiteration(that commits the subject matter expert further) and buys time for a follow-upquestion based in pertinence, not panic.

Question

Communication scholars have come to recognize that culture is a primarydeterminant of all communication behaviors – including listening – because one’sculture essentially serves to define who one is and how one will communicatethrough one’s perceptual filter. (A.D. Wolvin and C.G. Coakley, Listening [NewYork: McGraw-Hill, 1996],125)

Our perceptual filters root stubbornly in task necessities, personal history, andcorporate culture. Contest your assumptions. Welcome surprise. Corroborate forfact and fluency.

However, sincere engagement is not naïve. Let implication guide query. Bravecontradiction. Elucidate the opaque and catalogue nuance, for either this documentor the next.

Remember: the unasked question haunts.

Self-efface

Years ago, I tried to top everybody, but I don't anymore. I realized it was killingconversation. When you're always trying for a topper you aren't really listening. Itruins communication. ("Groucho Marx,” Wikipedia: The Free Encylopedia, http://www. en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Groucho Marx (accessed September 19,2010))



OK, you are smarter than this so-called subject matter expert. (Your goldfish couldbeat him at marbles.) Nevertheless, want more, like an apprentice. Be insatiable.

Map from Ear to There

Finally, furnish thoughtful inquiry —not the fillip of good manners, but protocols forcooperation. Successfull y map “vast … interiority” to the written word, and thereader will see what you heard.

Conducting Successful SME Interviews

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